Office Upgrades + Easy Rod Pocket Panels

By Kate Riley • June 18, 2012

Hello and happy Monday everyone! I’m on the east coast this week hanging out with my in-laws in Savannah while Coco gets some love from the house sitter back home. We’re out here eating a lot of southern food and seeing all the sights, Tybee Island, downtown Savannah, Hilton Head, and then spending our evenings sipping cold drinks on the screened porch, I’m havin’ a great vacay!

Before I left home, I cleaned off my desk because I prefer to come home to a clean surface. I made a few upgrades to the home office in the last six months, including a new rug, a smaller desk, a white leather chair, and some new curtains too. The space still has the same blue gray grasscloth wallpaper I installed a few years ago, so I was glad to finally find a great rug in the same palette to complement.

I settled on a more petite desk in the hopes of avoiding the piles of papers that used to stack up. I found it at local interiors shop and love its “x” base. I also switched from working on a laptop to a desktop after I finally found a white monitor I liked (so hard to find for a PC!).

Those are the new rod pocket panels in a fresh feminine pattern by P. Kaufmann – here are the simple steps for making lined rod pocket panels for the home!

1) Cut the length of fabric you need plus an extra 6 inches for the rod pocket on top and an extra inch for the hem on the bottom. 2) Add a layer of basic fabric liner to the underside, pin together, then attach the liner to the length of both sides of the panel (image 1) by rolling under the raw edge and stitching them together. 3) Measure the height of the pocket with the rod inside (image 2) allowing plenty of room for the panels to slide back and forth and pin the pocket. 4) Sew the top rod pocket (image 3) wrapping the raw side of the fabric underneath for a clean edge. 5) Double check the proper height of the panel (image 4) mark the measurement and sew the bottom hem.

That fabric just brightens my day and makes this space such a happy place to work. How true is it that we should surround ourselves with the colors and patterns we love most!

This fabric is perfect in your office! Great tutorial, too. I love panels–they’re so easy and always look classic. Enjoy your time in the south eating all of our wonderful foods and enjoying the warm water of the Atlantic.

Very fresh, and great use of color. I appreciate that you include your sources at the bottom. I was wondering if you could give the source for the rug you showed in your Troublesome Cat/Great Vacuum post? I asked, but I’m sure it got lost in the huge volume of replies. The colors and pattern are so beautiful. I am looking for a rug to anchor my living room–need to order a new sofa, but I’m reluctant to settle on the upholstery until I find a rug I love. Thanks!

Gorgeous Kate!!!! Just gorgeous!!! I love those curtains. Great pop of color for sure. Thanks for the step by step instructions. I actually have curtains I need to make for our Laundry Room and these instructions were very helpful. :) Maybe I can get this project done sooner now. Thank you. Have a great vacation. :)

Can I just move in? I don’t even need a bed, I’ll just sleep on that gorgeous rug!! This whole room just makes me eternally happy. I LOVE the colors. Anything mixed with gray is WONDERFUL but this particular color is just *swoon*. Love.

I adore this room. I am obsessing over gray right now…I have a big five gallon bucket of pale gray for updating most of my downstairs! In our tv room we have an orange leather recliner that needs to stay…this demonstrates how nice orange can go with gray. THANKS!

Hi Kate! I LOVE your office. Just beautiful! Is the desk something that’s sold nationwide? I’m looking for a desk just about that size. We have to turn our office into a baby room, so I’m looking for a much smaller desk that can be squeezed into our hallway. This is the right size, but still stylish enough to not look out of place in a hallway. Hope you are well!
Xoxo
Erin from ThePrettyDelicious.com

Just gorgeous!!! I have a design dilemma and maybe Kate or one of you can help!!!!

I plan on making a “home office” for myself in the back section of our L-shaped family room. I am “just-a-mom” but longing for organization and a place to call my own. I am loving the white/grey/pops of color look but I’d have to change the entire family room and that just isn’t happening….
Here’s what’s in the room now: Shaker Beige on the walls (very willing to change though), Honey-pine stained hardwood floors throughout with the Pottery Barn Blue/Gold Adeline Rug in the larger part of the L, Straw-colored upholstered couch with blue/pink/gold bouillon and fringe, dark leather side chair, gold – damask upholstered side chair, a stunning tall dark-cherry corner side piece, to name a few….
I need to buy a desk and chair… any favorites out there? How can I make it a calm and soothing area despite having so much color already in my family room. Thanks!

I came across your blog site today and I love it. I, too, did some renovations in my home office. The reveal will be on Friday’s post. Hopefully, you tune in to see it. I also re-designed my blog site. I’m totally loving it now.

What a lovely bit of fresh color! Those curtains are such a great accent in your office space. Nice choice on fabric, and great job on the sewing!

Have I mentioned that you were a great inspiration to me to begin sewing? For many years, I always told everyone that I have many talents, but sewing is definitely not one of them. I couldn’t even sew a button well. However, about a year ago, I decided that there were too many cute projects out there that required a sewing machine and sewing knowledge, so I decided to learn. I bought a basic (we’re talking $59) Brother sewing machine and did lots of reading online, and with those tools I have created clothing, stuffed animals, pillows, bags, fabric trays, and other items that I have gifted or used in my house. I am now in the process of sewing piping for a chair that I’m almost done reupholstering. So thank you for providing inspiration and encouragement in many of your posts! I love being able to sew, and I find my skills increasing all the time!

ha ha, I’m laughing at myself because I’m tired and came to your blog and thought “oh, so cute, I am going to add it to my Google Reader” and then realized you are ON my Google Reader and I clicked over from there ;) With that said, I LOVE IT!!! Love it! The rug is really cute too, where did that come from?

So pretty–I love the desk with the 3 slender drawers, and that white monitor is lovely! You are right–you need a place that makes you happy when you sit down to write creative posts–this is a great spot to do just that.

How neat, I was near you out there last week and you’re over here on the East Coast this week! I have a silly question for you – how long have you had that great office chair? Do you like it and is it hard to keep clean? I want some for our office at Posh. Thanks and enjoy the southern accents and the humidity! (It’s good for your skin!) :)

Hi. I am in love with that both happy and serene space. What color paint do you have on the pocket/FBI-fold doors? I have been looking through all office blogs. Can’t find. Please. We paint tomorrow!
You have fantastic clean, ssophisticated “California Traditional boho” taste. Most amazing that you do it all. Are you jeannie in the bottle?
Karen
PLEASE SEND DTHE DOORS PAINT COLOR:)

Hello! I’ve been a silent visitor for quite a while now, but when I saw the rug, I knew it was time to speak up!

I’ve seen this rug on Overstock.com, and I really love it. I want to purchase it for my family room. Can you share how thick it is? I want something a little thicker to provide a little padding, because my husband like to stretch out on the floor to watch TV. :-)

Hi Kate,
Love your office update.
I have been looking for a white desk, so after reading yesterday about your new desk I got in the car and ran to Staples. No luck! Can you give me the style number so I can ask the store manager to help me locate. Also what are the measurements?
I have just bought a sewing machine so going to make the pillows, your a great inspiration….

Welcome to Atlanta! Hope you have a wonderful time while you are here. The panels are such a pretty color and the wall color in this room is perfect for seasonal changes. Your design is fabulous I would love to work in this room.
Cheers!
Lori D.
Atlanta

Would love to know where you found a white keyboard too. Maybe they’re more available now but last year when I found my white monitor (love) to match my white desk I haven’t been able to find a white keyboard. Thanks.

Love this room! Could you please tell me where u found your bookcases?? I have a similar big window in my extra room and would love to flank it with narrow bookcases but all the ones I find seem to be too wide. Thanks so much!!

I didn’t see the link to the desk, but I’m pretty sure I found it on Sears’ website. Just wondering if you felt it was worth the money? It looks like exactly the desk I want, but I usually don’t like buying furniture without seeing it. Would you recommend it? Thanks!

I had a new desk made recently however I was forced to stain it because we used pine with ALOT of character, so white paint was out of the question. The stain color I chose was a mahogany. Since I’m in love with the color palette you chose, I plan to order the same fabric to make my curtain panels. In your opinion do you think the mahogany desk will look okay up against this fabric?

I am about to re-do one of our guest bedrooms & I’d love to paint the closet as you did in your office. Can you please tell us how you figured out the color combos & how you did it? I’m assuming you just taped it off, but did you use the wall color on some of the doors & then a diluted wall color on the other parts? I would really appreciate an explanation of how to get the correct color coordination on the doors like you have so they blend in more & don’t stick out. Thanks!

I think I saw a desk like that or similar design on Pottery Barn website(I think!) Love it, would I be asking too much to give us the measurement of the table? I also love your curtains. They add class to your room. I love your color scheme; elegant yet soft to the eye. I know with a laptop, you wouldn’t have all the cables,etc.showing but you choose to have a monitor? I’m computer challenged, so bear with me about computer questions. Where do you have your desktop hooked up so the cables don’t show?

I am hoping you’ll be able to help – the source link for your curtains is not linking to the fabric any more. I know it’s by P. Kaufmann but I’m hoping you remember the name of the fabric so I can source it on another site since fabric.com doesn’t seem to carry it any more. Thanks!

Hello, I'm Kate! I'm a renovator, decorator, and do-it-yourselfer who writes daily about great interior design and smart home improvement. Welcome to the place where I share my advice and adventures in decorating and DIY projects! Learn more.